Connie Huang (FTVM '11) spoke on the panel "Women in Media Technology" and conducted a session entitled "Filmmaker Working in New York City" at the 2020 Media and Studio Arts Symposium at Duderstadt on Thursday, February 20, 2020. Huang has worked as the professional camera assistant for such films as The Goldfinch, The Greatest Showman, Bridge of Spies, The Post, and West Side Story. Additionally, Connie conducted an open session with FTVM majors on Friday, February 21, 2020, in North Quad's Green Room.

FTVM Alum Justin Powell ('09) Featured in DEADLINE

The February 4, 2020 issue of Deadline reveals This Is Us star Lonnie Chavis is to topline the indie thriller The Boy Behind The Door, co-written and co-directed by FTVM Alum Justin Powell ('09) and David Charbonier. The film follows Bobby (Chavis), a young boy who is kidnapped alongside his best friend on their way to Little League practice. With no means of calling for help and miles of dark country in every direction, Bobby must rescue his friend and find a way out before they become the latest victims in a collection of lost children. Read the full article in Deadline.

Kevin Tocco ('18) Selected for CBS Page Program

Kevin Tocco (FTVM ‘18) was recently selected for the CBS Page Program in NYC. His current role is an audience management Page at the Ed Sullivan Theatre for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. After this “rotation,” he will have the opportunity to assist CBS news shows as News Page as well as other entertainment shows produced in the CBS Broadcast center. (Kevin wants you to know that no unpaid internships were required!)

photos courtesy of Kevin Tocco

Andrew Ericksen's (FTVM '11) TOXICITY Now Streaming on Amazon

Writer & Director Andrew Ericksen (FTVM '11) directs this suspense drama about a young widower who moves home with his mother; their strained relationship grows even more complicated as he becomes the primary suspect in his wife's suspicious death.

Spotlight Alums in 2019

FTVM Alum Sheonna Mix ('02) Featured in Article by Bossip.com

Bossip.com recently featured FTVM Alum Sheonna Mix ('02) in an article entitled, "The Creative Class: Sheonna Mix Is Unscripted Television’s Force To Be Reckoned With." The article details Mix's career and praises her as "an unstoppable television force" who "As Bravo’s Vice President of Current Programming, [...] is shaping pop culture, one green light at a time. If Sheonna says something is a go, it’s a GO. Buckle up and let Sheonna make magic, it’s what she does best."

Bossip.com is the premier destination for African American popular culture and entertainment, with a voice that’s edgy, viciously hilarious, politically aware–and completely unique.

photo source: iOne Digital Creative / Creative Class

FTVM Honors Alum Tricia Williams ('15) Interviewed by VOYAGE L.A.

FTVM Honors Alum Tricia Williams ('15) was interviewed on October 7, 2019, by Voyage LA. In the interview, "Meet Tricia Williams" Tricia shares her story, announces her new e-book The Sewing Club, talks about her involvement with Magic Punch and Anthill Comedy - and hints at her future projects. To read the full interview and learn more about Tricia, please click here.

TVM Alums Jeremy Cohen (FTVM '99) and Tony Diaz (FTVM '00) have both been nominated for Emmy Awards. Tony has been nominated in the category of editing for his work on the show "Life Below Zero:" Jeremy, too, has been nominated in the category of editing for his work on the show "Who is America?"

FTVM Alum Bryce Holden Enters AFI as Cinematography Fellow, Fall 2019

Bryce Holden received his BA from the University of Michigan in 2014 with a major in Screen Arts and Cultures. In Terri Sarris' Intro to Production class, where he got the opportunity to work in digital and film formats, he discovered his love for working with cinema cameras. He credits Mark Kligerman's film theory class for teaching him new perspectives on analyzing film. After graduation, he moved to Los Angeles and began working in camera departments on varying projects (as a camera operator, 1st AC and 2nd AC), while also working as a Prep Technician at a local camera rental house. Bryce has worked in over 20 different countries and shot for National Geographic. Bryce’s first feature film as a Director of Photography, I TRAPPED THE DEVIL, was released in theaters earlier this year through IFC Midnight.

photo courtesy of Bryce Holden

Anna Baumgarten (FTVM '15) Works at Jim Cummings' Inaugural Short to Feature Film Lab

Baumgarten, one of ten fellows at the Jim Cummings' Inaugural Short to Feature Film Lab, is currently working alongside industry professionals and peers to transform her short film Disfluency into a feature concept.

Anna Baumgarten's Disfluency is an award-winning short film that follows a young woman through her daily life, from her passive usage of the phrase "I'm sorry," to her being raped and the emotional aftermath. All the while, this habit of apologizing eerily stays with her throughout, begging the question: have we let rape become a cultural disfluency—an expected, almost unnoticeable interruption—in our culture?

Waldemar Centano Soon to Edit New Comedy Feature, THE BINGE (Hulu)

Waldemar Centeno (FTVM '06) is a professional film and television editor who has cut on many noteworthy projects that include The Goldbergs and Mr. Student Body President. In over a decade, he has edited an array of genres on shows and features for Sony, Disney, HBO, CBS, ABC, FOX, FX, and many more. He recently was the editor on a comedy/drama feature film starring Pete Davidson, Griffin Gluck, and Jon Cryer for American High/LD Entertainment titled Big Time Adolescence, which premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition for the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. He has now completed post on another comedy/drama feature film called Bailey & Darla starring Pitch Perfect's Brittany Snow and Veep's Sam Richardson. Centano will soon be heading to edit a new comedy feature titled The Binge for Hulu.

On Tuesday, September 3, 2019, Centano conducted an editing workshop for FTVM entitled, "How an Editor Organizes a Feature Film, What an Assistant Editor Does Before Moving Up to Editor, and Much More!"

Photo credit, Mary Lou Chlipala

Dave Devries Produces PLUS ONE with Studio 71

Dave Devries (FTVM 2011) recently produced PLUS ONE with Studio 71. PLUS ONE is a romantic comedy in which long-time friends Alice and Ben find themselves in that inevitable year that all late 20-somethings experience - in which seemingly every person they know gets married - and agree to be one another’s plus ones as they power through an endless parade of insufferable weddings.

Written and directed by Andrew Rhymer and Jeff Chan and starring Maya Erskine (PEN15 on Hulu), Jack Quaid (THE BOYS on Amazon), Beck Bennet (SNL), and Ed Begley Jr., the film premiered at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award.

Author and FTVM Alum A. Brad Schwartz Publishes New Book SCARFACE AND THE UNTOUCHABLE

Scarface and the Untouchable: Al Capone, Eliot Ness, and the Battle for Chicago draws upon decades of primary source research -- including the personal papers of Ness and his associates, newly released federal files, and long-forgotten crime magazines containing interviews with the gangsters and G-men themselves. Collins and Schwartz have recaptured a bygone bullet-ridden era while uncovering the previously unrevealed truth behind Scarface's downfall. Together they have crafted the definitive work on Capone, Ness, and the battle for Chicago.

David Siev Screens YEAR ZERO at 2019 Media and Studio Arts Symposium

David Siev (FTVM '15) presented his award-winning short film Year Zerowith an introduction and Q&A to follow the screening at the Duderstadt 2019 Media and Studio Arts Symposium in February.

When Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge regime seized control of Cambodia in 1975, the country plunged into civil war and was ravaged by mass killings, famine, torture and disease. With no end in sight to the hunger and starvation and nothing left to lose, two young brothers stop at nothing for a chance to survive.

FVTM Alums are shooting a feature-length musical film entitled DUELERS in Pontiac, Michigan. DUELERS was written and composed by U of M alum, Drew De Four (‘06) who recently composed the additional music for The Trail to Oregon. Danny Mooney (FTVM ‘08, Love and Honor), and Anthony Kalil (FTVM ‘15) are producing the show, and several other FTVM alums are contributing to the project.

FTVM Alum Shrihari Sathe ('05) recently won the 2019 Film Independent Spirit Awards Producers Award, an award that honors emerging producers who, despite limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality independent films. Barbara Twist (FTVM '12) of Dear Producer, sat down with Sathe and discussed the struggles of producing a Tibetan language film, how he raises money for non-English language projects, and how for six years he didn’t have an apartment and lived from festival to festival and market to market. To access Twist's profile on Sathe, please click here.

Roddy Hyduk's PIZZAIOLO (2017) Distributed by THE NEW YORKER

Roddy Hyduk's (FTVM '13) Pizzaiolo (2017), a short film about Di Fara Pizza in Brooklyn and the living legend behind the magic, Domenico DeMarco, was distributed by The New Yorker.Hyduk and crew (including two other U-M graduates: Morgan Wynne '16, Producer, and Matthew Infante '13, IAC) were recently nominated for a Webby Award for their work on the film.

Andrew Laurich Featured in VOYAGE LA

FTVM Alum Andrew Laurich ('05) was recently featured in Voyage LA in an April 15, 2019 article entitled "Art & Life with Andrew Laurich." The feature details Laurich's work in the industry, provides background information on his art, shares some of his advice, and provides links to his work. Access the full article here.

Image Credits: Voyage LA - Scott Uhlfelder. Mousa Kraish

FTVM Alums Screen Films at Multiple Film Festivals

Jeremy Borison (FTVM '15) directed a short film called Boxes, which was recently accepted into both the Ann Arbor Jewish Film Festival and the Detroit Jewish Film Festival. Boxes also recently played at the Cleveland International Film Festival with another FTVM film, Disfluency (Produced by Anna Baumgarten, FTVM '15).

Spotlight Alums in 2018

Perry Janes Selected for Creators for Imagine Impact!

Perry Janes (SAC grad, with Highest Honors, 2012) has been selected as one of 25 creators for the inaugural class of Creators for Imagine Impact! This new program, the brainchild of Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, seeks to reshape the Hollywood development process by taking a leaf out of Silicon Valley's playbook. By pairing emerging creators with established writers and show runners ("Shapers"), the program fast-tracks projects to completion over an 8 week period, culminating in a series of pitches to studio and network heads. Perry's project AMERICAN REFUGEE, a 60-minute drama concept for cable television, was selected from over 4,000 applicants. He will be working with Academy Award winning writer Dustin Lance Black.

Yoni Goldstein and Meredith Zielke Selected for IFP Filmmakers Lab

The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) recently announced the 20 feature films selected for the IFP Filmmaker Labs, IFP’s year-long fellowship for first-time filmmakers currently in post-production on their debut feature. Combining documentary and narrative features together for the first time, the program runs May 21-25, 2018 at the Made in NY Media Center by IFP located in DUMBO, Brooklyn.

Goldsteins's (FTVM '06) and Zielke's (FTVM '06) A Machine to Live In was selected as one of the feature films. This sci-fi documentary paints a complex portrait of life and myth in the space-age city of Brasilia, a sixties-era architectural mega-project, and the flourishing landscape of cults, religious movements, and transcendental spaces that have emerged around it. The film is assembled from found documents and texts from key figures who were called to chronicle this monumental social experiment.

Ryan McDonough Talks about his Debut Film GROOVE in the DAILY

Ryan McDonough (FTVM '16) talks about his expeirences making the film GROOVE -- and how the FTVM program helped to fuel his confidence to "do something big." Read Ryan's full interview here.

GROOVE is is currently available on Amazon, Itunes, Xbox, Hulu, Google Play and Vimeo.

photo at left, courtesty of Ryan McDonough

Sophia Kruz (FTVM '11) Collaborates with U-M’s School of Education to Transform High School Classrooms with her Documentary LITTLE STONES

Kruz has recently partnered with LSA alumnus, Darin Stockdill (A.B. 1991), the design coordinator with the Center for Education Design, Evaluation, and Research (CEDER) at U-M’s School of Education, on educational materials to use with her documentary, Little Stones. Together, they developed a program that would help teachers and students from around Michigan and across the country process difficult topics—genital mutilation, domestic violence, human trafficking, and economic precarity—by using Little Stones as a jumping-off point for difficult but important conversations.

Alison Hacker (FTVM GMS Minor '17) Works in NBC Page Program

Alison Hacker (GMS Minor '17) is currently working in the NBC Page Program in NYC. Alison is on an assignment at Focus Features in the publicity department, one of her three-month long rotations during her year in the program. In additional to having three different rotations, Pages give NBC studio tours, work special events, and work with the audiences for Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and Late Night With Seth Meyers.

A recent highlight for Alison was working behind the scenes for the televised production of Jesus Christ Superstar starring John Legend and Sara Bareilles (see set photo at right). Alison worked specifically with audience seating for the production, helping to guide and direct over 1400 audience members. She states she was surprised at the fact that "before the event, audience members checked in at a near-by hotel and then were all bused to the venue. [She] was told it was because they didn’t want to disrupt the community surrounding the Brooklyn-based theater." As a graduate of Michigan's theatre school with a minor in the FTVM department, Alison says it was "an incredible experience to see her two favorite artistic mediums come together on such a large scale."

Congratulations to Anna for winning the Jury Prize in the 2018 Detroit Voices Competition at the Cinetopia Film Festival!

FTVM Alums James Janisse ('11) and Chelsea Rebecca ('12) Talk Horror in Their New Podcast

James Janisse (FTVM '11) and Chelsea Rebecca (FTVM '12) have begun a podcast about Horror film enttitled Dead Meat (an offshoot of James's popular YouTube show Kill Count). In the first episode, James and Chelsea introduce themselves and give a context for their love of the genre. Chelsea cites Mark Kligerman's horror film class as "the best class, hands down [she] ever took." Listen to the full podcast here.

Project Cinema MI recently announced the winners of their 2017 screenwriting contest, and screenwriting sub-major Natalie Lomske (FTVM '16) won the grand prize. This accolade not only includes a monetary reward but also involves Natlaie's script being produced into a short film by Brauer Productions and screened at the State Theater in summer/fall of 2018.

Alum John Nelson ('76) Wins Oscar for Best Visual Effects and Appears at AAFF

John Nelson (pictured at left, front) won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects for Bladerunner 2049 on Sunday, March 4, 2018.

On Wednesday, March 21, 2018, at 5:00 p.m., Nelson will present a free illustrated lecture in the Michigan Theatre Main Auditorium as a part of the Ann Arbor Film Festival. In the lecture, Nelson will show how he and his team created some of the 1,190 visual effects shots for Blade Runner 2049 . Using before-and-afters, he’ll detail the visual effects production process from design to principal photography to post-production.

Julia Mogerman won the Big Break Screenwriting Contest Award in the Drama category for her screenplay, Stray. The Big Break Screenwriting Contest offers film and TV writers in 11 genres the chance to win up to $80,000 in cash and prizes. Grand prize winners also get flown to Los Angeles to meet with managers, producers, and executives.The grand prize winners for this year will be announced in February at the 2018 Final Draft Awards show.

Anna Garcia (FTVM '17) Stars in National Duracell Commercial

Anna Garcia booked her first national commercial as the star of Duracell's most recent spot. It was directed by comedy legends Tim Heidecker and Eric Warheim. Watch the commerical below -- and check out Anna's website to see what she's been up to!

Jackie Turner (FTVM '12) To Create New Documentary on the Future of Bananas

FTVM Alumna Jackie Turner would like you to know that bananas do not grow on trees. Figuratively or literally. And that's important, because as consumers we rarely consider the consequences of our consumption, especially when those consequences occur thousands of miles from our grocery stores.

Having just completed a masters degree in ecological sciences at Imperial College London, Jackie is combining her skills as a former professional video producer and editor with her love for science and food to start a new project. On her team are six other ecologists newly graduated from Imperial College London. This international team is determined to create a documentary film about bananas: "Bananageddon" will focus on small banana producers who are innovating banana production by growing other edible banana varieties and growing these bananas in complex, biodiverse agroforestry systems.

Jackie considers herself a science communicator and hopes to use her media skills to communicate important science topics. Most recently, she authored an article for Science Magazine."